Indonesia and East Timor

Indonesia and East Timor

The bloodshed is not the result of clashes between pro and anti-independence militias. Instead, pro-Jakarta thugs are indiscriminately attacking residents who yearn for independence and peace. The situation is unacceptable.

Do pro-Jakarta forces plan to promote anarchy in East Timor in the interim so that the People's Consultative Assembly will reject independence for the territory? Or are the armed gunmen trying to provoke proindependence forces in East Timor to start a civil war as a ploy to convince Indonesia's presidential candidates to renounce independence for East Timor?

The UN's announcement of the referendum results signified that the process leading to East Timor's independence is irreversible. The focus has now shifted to finding a way to make the transition as smooth as possible.

Many immigrants from Indonesia will remain in East Timor after the territory acquires its independence and East Timor's geographical and economic ties to Indonesia will not be severed. Therefore, it is in Indonesia's interest to maintain friendly relations with East Timor. The Indonesian government must immediately suppress the reign of terror in East Timor and close the curtains on its more than two decades of rule there.

-- The Mainichi Shimbun, Tokyo